Pickups with more dynamic range?

I just bought a set of Wilde alnico microcoils, and they are some of the most dynamic pickups I've come across.(Almost a little "too dynamic", it seems, at times)
Stacked (noiseless) single coils also seem generally to have a bit less dynamics compared to many single coil designs, IMO.

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You get used to it and it makes you play better!

I love my alnico microcoils. Keystone's are just as good but smoother and less HD.

First of all, I am pretty sure that question/statement can't be technically accurate since this isn't a microphone (it's a magnet), but I'm just not sure how to correctly ask this question. A little background... I have an American Deluxe Telecaster that plays like a dream and is very resonant/lively. The pickups are the factory original N3s and they are "fine". I mean that in the most sincere way...just like when your lady friend says "it's fine".

I've learned certain things about pickups that have helped me get what I'm looking for in other cases (e.g., P-90s, WRHBs). What am I looking for now? I'm hunting a set of Tele pickups that will be as dynamic as the ones in Dan's (from That Pedal Show) red Tele, for example. Something very responsive to right hand dynamics, tasty sounding from a whisper to a scream... Not really the volume knob thing.

What am I really hearing? What are the attributes that contribute here? What would I be looking for in terms of technical specs?

Craig Anderton wrote an article that I read somewhere, may have been in Guitar Player, where he talks about how pickup height (in relation to strings) affects the dynamic range of the pickup. In short, when the pickups are close to the strings, the transient peaks are actually higher in relation to moderate picking when compared to peak/nominal ratio of lower pickup settings. He demonstrates this with graphs by comparing the two different pickup height settings. Most of us prefer the overall sound of our pickups a bit lower than super-close; this may be due to the more even dynamic range that results from having some distance from the strings.

In my experience, stacked noise-canceling pickups seem have less dynamic range than true single coils. By dynamic range, I mean hard pick attacks (transient peaks) are really cutting compared to soft/moderate playing. I speculate that this may be because of destructive interference between the sensing coil and the noise-canceling coil (and the lack of such in a true single coil), but I don't know for sure. And not all noise canceling pickups are alike. The best ones are very dynamic.

Craig Anderton wrote an article that I read somewhere, may have been in Guitar Player, where he talks about how pickup height (in relation to strings) affects the dynamic range of the pickup. In short, when the pickups are close to the strings, the transient peaks are actually higher in relation to moderate picking when compared to peak/nominal ratio of lower pickup settings. He demonstrates this with graphs by comparing the two different pickup height settings. Most of us prefer the overall sound of our pickups a bit lower than super-close; this may be due to the more even dynamic range that results from having some distance from the strings.

In my experience, stacked noise-canceling pickups seem have less dynamic range than true single coils. By dynamic range, I mean hard pick attacks (transient peaks) are really cutting compared to soft/moderate playing. I speculate that this may be because of destructive interference between the sensing coil and the noise-canceling coil (and the lack of such in a true single coil), but I don't know for sure. And not all noise canceling pickups are alike. The best ones are very dynamic.

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While this is true, to an extent, if the pups are too close to the strings you lose dynamic range. This is due to the magnets pulling on the strings. This is easy to test by setting pup heights the way Bill Lawrence recomends. Set the poles two nickels away from the strings and gradually lower them until they reach their sweet spot. I just did this to my strat, and there is a sweet spot, which is MUCH lower than the highest they can go without touching the strings.

While FENDER noiseless pups do IMO have far less dynamic range than single coils, that is a very old design(designed by Bill Lawrence). He has since really upped the game. I think of Fender noiseless pups as prototypes for later designs. lol

Watch the video below. It compares two of BL Noiseless pups(L-280TN and L-200TL) in comparison to a 2014 American Standard which had a broadcaster bridge and twisted tele neck. To me the noiseless sound better, even on a TOP LOADING Mexican Tele! The microcoils are so much betterv that at one time BL wanted to stop making the 280/200 and just make Microcoils. lol

Craig Anderton wrote an article that I read somewhere, may have been in Guitar Player, where he talks about how pickup height (in relation to strings) affects the dynamic range of the pickup. In short, when the pickups are close to the strings, the transient peaks are actually higher in relation to moderate picking when compared to peak/nominal ratio of lower pickup settings. He demonstrates this with graphs by comparing the two different pickup height settings. Most of us prefer the overall sound of our pickups a bit lower than super-close; this may be due to the more even dynamic range that results from having some distance from the strings.

In my experience, stacked noise-canceling pickups seem have less dynamic range than true single coils. By dynamic range, I mean hard pick attacks (transient peaks) are really cutting compared to soft/moderate playing. I speculate that this may be because of destructive interference between the sensing coil and the noise-canceling coil (and the lack of such in a true single coil), but I don't know for sure. And not all noise canceling pickups are alike. The best ones are very dynamic.

The explanation as to why you get a louder transient when the pickups are close is easy to understand if you consider that magnetic strength at distance drops off exponentially; when you pluck the string, it's at it's maximum of displacement. The closer you get your pickup to that maximum displacement, the more voltage you get at the maximum displacement, relative to the minimum displacement.

Suppose the string displaced 5mm when you pluck it. If the pickup is 10mm away from the string, then the transient string pluck brings the string to within 5mm of the pickup, and it rests 10mm away from the pickup. Now suppose the pickup is only 6mm away from the string, when you pluck the string, it comes to within 1mm of the pole piece and rests 6mm away from the pickup. Since magnetic strength at a distance is not linear, and is inverse cubic, you get a much greater magnetic difference from having the string come to within 1mm of the pole piece than you do having it come to withing 5mm. Greater magnet difference means more voltage, due to Faraday's law, and so that transient, or maximum displacement, it relatively louder.

I see something I disagree with though, he says "With the “tail” of the second, “far” waveform, the sustain stays louder for longer. So, you do indeed get more sustain" he's basically saying that just because the decay amplitude is proportionately close the transient when the pickups is further away, you have more sustain. That is not an increase in sustain, that's merely a decrease of attack. He even acknowledges that you have to turn up the amp to realize that "increased sustain". It's an important distinction, because it leads people to believe that the magnet of pickup causes "damping" of the string, or a reduction of acoustic sustain, which is a popular assumption in the guitar world, but I've done a handful of tests and I see little evidence that this is true. I wrote about it here http://guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/8010/magnetic-damping-springing

I've experimented with this a lot, and am also firmly in the "amp is king" camp as far as dynamic range and touch sensitivity go. I love my Keystones and Cavaliers, and they have tremendous dynamic range and touch sensitivity when played through my cranked tweed Deluxe or cranked low-power tweed Twin. But so do my cheap Tex Mex Tele pickups. Only the voicing and output differ to my ears.

While this is true, to an extent, if the pups are too close to the strings you lose dynamic range. This is due to the magnets pulling on the strings. This is easy to test by setting pup heights the way Bill Lawrence recomends. Set the poles two nickels away from the strings and gradually lower them until they reach their sweet spot. I just did this to my strat, and there is a sweet spot, which is MUCH lower than the highest they can go without touching the strings.

While FENDER noiseless pups do IMO have far less dynamic range than single coils, that is a very old design(designed by Bill Lawrence). He has since really upped the game. I think of Fender noiseless pups as prototypes for later designs. lol

Watch the video below. It compares two of BL Noiseless pups(L-280TN and L-200TL) in comparison to a 2014 American Standard which had a broadcaster bridge and twisted tele neck. To me the noiseless sound better, even on a TOP LOADING Mexican Tele! The microcoils are so much betterv that at one time BL wanted to stop making the 280/200 and just make Microcoils. lol

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Good points. I have been using L280s for at least 10 years, and I am perfectly happy. However, I tend to prefer my pups pretty close. Different strokes, etc.

While this is true, to an extent, if the pups are too close to the strings you lose dynamic range. This is due to the magnets pulling on the strings.

Click to expand...

The perceived dynamic range and the magnet's physical interaction upon the string's movement are not related. The magnetic pull does influence the way the string vibrates, but it causes almost no reduction in overall movement energy. In a mass spring damper system, the damper removes energy by converting energy to heat. Magnetic pull doesn't convert any energy to heat.

The perceived dynamic range and the magnet's physical interaction upon the string's movement are not related. The magnetic pull does influence the way the string vibrates, but it causes almost no reduction in overall movement energy. In a mass spring damper system, the damper removes energy by converting energy to heat. Magnetic pull doesn't convert any energy to heat.

Click to expand...

That is probably true. The magnetic pull does affect the way the strings vibrate, thus changing their sound. Maybe this is what I am saying and not using the term correctly. I just got done LOWERING my strat pups an 1/8th turn of the screw at a time to find the sweet spot. I was surprised not only that where I thought I had them was best previously, but how much of a change even an 1/8th of a turn could make while fine tuning. Especially on the bridge pup.